China Pushes Big State Companies to Leave Overcrowded Beijing
- Forced exodus part of Xi's sweeping overhaul of state industry
- Cities vie for displaced companies with land deals, benefits
Buildings stand in this aerial photograph taken in Beijing, China, on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. China's economy slowed in December, capping the weakest quarter of growth since the 2009 global recession, as the Communist leadership struggles to manage a transition to consumer-led expansion.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergBeijing may be pulling in the welcome mat for many of the country’s biggest state-owned companies, including some that have had their headquarters in the capital for decades, setting off a scramble among other cities competing to lure them away.
The plan -- part of President Xi Jinping’s blueprint to reinvigorate the economy -- aims to move the main offices of state firms that have no core business in Beijing, according to two people familiar with the discussions. The relocations would help reduce traffic congestion, pollution and overcrowding in the capital as well as reinvigorate other first- and second-tier cities on the receiving end, such as Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan and others, according to the people who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private.